Sutter Civil Rights Lawyers

David E. Mastagni is a partner with the law firm of Mastagni Holstedt, APC, who specializes in labor and employment law representation of public safety employees, including trial and appellate litigation in California and federal courts. In particular, he handles complex civil, class action and collective action litigation, claims arising out of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. and California Constitutions, the California Public Records Act (CPRA), the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBR), the California Labor Code, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, and other statutes protecting the rights of employees.
Among his other legal activities, David is an...

My clients receive an aggressive defense that only years of courtroom experience can deliver. No matter how challenging a client's case is, they can rest assured they have a powerful ally on their side. Increasingly individuals and businesses find themselves in contact with government agencies like the FBI or IRS. The consequences can be devastating, personally, professionally and financially. The government can and does form the wrong impression of targets and subjects. Correcting the government's impression requires an attorney’s involvement. Successful , self-made people have accomplished much on their own. Unfortunately, many of these useful business...

Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law: I provide a complete range of estate planning, elder law, probate, trust administration, veterans pension and Medi-Cal eligibility services. I work with clients to create and implement an estate plan specifically designed with them in mind, including their family, their business, their property and their personal wishes. This includes preparation of Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Durable Powers of Attorney for Asset Management. Family Law: I have over 30 years of experience in family law. Besides being a highly trained, experienced and knowledgeable family lawyer, I am personally and professionally sensitive to the concerns...

David L. Axelrod began work as a teenager, selling scorecards in Dodger Stadium. After attending college, David L. Axelrod entered a career as Park Ranger and Fire Fighter, at the East Bay Regional Park District of Northern California. In 1988, David L. Axelrod graduated law school at the University of California, Berkeley, California, passed the bar, and commenced the practice of law. David L. Axelrod worked as Deputy Attorney for CALTRANS Legal Division in Los Angeles, California, and then as Deputy Tuolumne County Counsel in Sonora, California. Mr....

"The only minority is the individual and Justice is the only measure of equality among individuals."

Christopher C. Phillips was born in Sacramento and raised in Glen Ellen, CA (the heart of Sonoma Valley). Growing up, Chris was always a good student, but was consumed with Baseball. Following his dream, Chris attended Santa Rosa Junior College and then Texas Tech University to play Baseball. After graduating with an Exercise and Sports Science degree from Texas Tech, Chris decided he had just about reached the end of the line as far as baseball was concerned, so he refocused his goals and decided on Law School. After Graduating from University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Chris clerked for,...

I am a trial attorney. I have conducted over 75 jury trials to verdicts and 6 court trials to verdict. Included in those numbers are 4 murder trials to verdict, 1 attempted murder to verdict, 1 capital case (death penalty) to verdict, and 27 other various serious/violent felonies to verdict, as well as less serious cases.

I have direct and cross examined experts in the following fields: mental health, ballistics, fingerprints, analysis of controlled substances and alcohol, forensic pathology, forensic sexual assault examinations, possession for sale of narcotics, cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana, battered partner syndrome,...

I have represented clients in employment matters since 1988. This includes cases in State Court, Federal Court, the Civil Service Commission, the California State Personnel Board, and private arbitrations pursuant to arbitration agreements. We are very proud of our success rate, in handling these cases for employees.

Glenn Katon is an experienced litigator who has handled numerous trials and appeals. His practice has focused on plaintiffs’ civil rights for the last ten years, preceded by over ten years of commercial litigation. He has litigated racial profiling, immigrants’ rights, police misconduct free speech, and religious freedom cases, and been quoted on civil rights law in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Newsweek.

Since 1997, Mr. Young has represented plaintiffs involved in serious personal injury cases. Mr. Young has a strong background in litigation and appeals. In 2005, Mr. Young successfully argued a significant premises liability case on behalf of a seriously injured plaintiff before the California Supreme Court, Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005) 36 Cal.4th 224, which established that California merchants have a special relationship-based duty of care to protect their customers from the wrongful acts of other customers. Mr. Young also won an appeal in another premises liability case, Mata v. Mata (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 1121, which involved...

The Applegate Law Office focuses on efficient, effective representation. I provide my clients with exactly the help that they need. I founded the Applegate Law Office in June 2009. I have been practicing law in California since 2003, and I have spent most of those years practicing law in the North Bay. As an attorney for years in Santa Rosa and a former prosecutor in Ukiah and Willits, I am familiar with Sonoma and Mendocino County courts. My office, centrally located in Santa Rosa, serves all of the North Bay – Mendocino, Sonoma, Lake, Napa, and Marin counties.

A personal injury...

Ms. Jaffee’s main area of practice is civil litigation. She represents clients in a wide range of matters, including personal injury, medical and dental malpractice, real estate, premises liability, employment and general business litigation.

She joined Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz in September 2016. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as a civil litigation attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area, including as a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of a multi-national law firm.

During law school, Ms. Jaffee interned with the State Bar of California and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ms. Jaffee obtained her...

When individuals or businesses are involved in any form of litigation, they want an attorney who offers face-to-face contact and provides valuable legal services at competitive and reasonable costs. The Law Offices of Frank S. Moore, APC in San Francisco and Healdsburg, California, has attorneys on staff and "of counsel" that are committed and dedicated to clients and have extensive experience in the following areas of practice: • Business Litigation • Appeals and Writs • Federal and White Collar Criminal Defense • Wrongful Death • Personal Injury • Civil Rights • Disability...

Mr. Johnson has been practicing law for over 27 years. He has been a partner in The Law Office of Johnson & Johnson since 1998. The Law Office of Johnson & Johnson defends clients in matters related to Criminal Defense; Juvenile Dependency; Driving Under the Influence; Juvenile Delinquency, Civil Rights Litigation and related matters. Mr. Johnson and the attorneys at The Law Office of Johnson & Johnson are committed to their clients and their clients' circumstances.

Mr. Johnson has personally conducted well over 100 jury trials in courts throughout the state and federal court. He has engaged...

Daniel Horowitz is Contra Costa County's "Top 100 Trial Lawyer". Daniel is an active community member serving on the Lafayette Crime Prevention Commission and a strong supporter of LPIE, Generations in Jazz and the Acalanes and local sports programs. His law group, Lawyers in Lafayette is a community law firm handling all types of cases "in house" or assisting in a referral to the best attorney for your needs. Daniel Horowitz and his legal team have exceptional qualifications in targeted areas. His group of affiliated attorneys includes a licensed physician who practices as a lawyer, a licensed...

In the last seventeen years, Law Offices of Joseph Salama has helped companies and individuals navigate successfully through the legal system. For some, this meant going before a jury, whether in federal or state court, or before an administrative law judge. For some, it meant getting out of the case as quickly and painlessly as possible. For some, it meant putting the right knowledge, documents, and systems in place to minimize the risk of litigation. But for all of them, it meant listening, understanding, and then making the commitment to meet their needs such that they could begin to outsource...

Brian is a National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 Attorney and was selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Brian represents severely injured plaintiffs in cases involving personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice and elder abuse. Brian represents clients throughout the State of California including the counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, Solano and San Francisco.

Mike attended law school on a merit-based scholarship and graduated with honors. Since joining the firm in January 2001, Mike’s practice has been dedicated solely to representing plaintiffs. Mike specializes in litigating serious injury and wrongful death cases. He has extensive experience handling cases involving personal injury, product liability, automotive defect/crashworthiness, medical malpractice, elder abuse, civil rights, fire claims, insurance bad faith as well as government entity liability. Mike’s practice also focuses on representing property owners, both residential and commercial, in construction defect matters. He has successfully represented hundreds of homeowners and businesses in Northern California seeking recovery for defective...

Mr. Lewis’ main area of practice is civil litigation. He has litigated diverse subject areas such as First Amendment Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Employment and Housing Act, wage laws, trade secrets, contracts, securities laws and real property laws, as well as many others. Mr. Lewis’s central area of practice involves business and employment related issues and real estate matters. Mr. Lewis also represents clients regarding homeowner's association disputes.

Mr. Lewis is also a trainer in areas of employment law for organizations with an emphasis on prevention. He has taught hundreds of courses in subject areas that include sexual harassment...

Mr. Tabayoyon is an experienced trial attorney that focuses on personal injury and family law matters, including federal and state trial litigation.

Izaak Schwaiger is an advocate and champion for the rights of regular people. A decorated veteran of the United States Marine Corps, a former Sonoma County prosecutor, and a respected presence in the courtroom, Mr. Schwaiger has devoted his practice to defending the criminally accused and upholding the civil rights of those who have been wronged by the police. Following ten years of service to his country in the Marine Corps, Izaak enrolled in law school at the University of Wyoming, where he did not graduate with honors, but was named "most likely to become a rockstar." Called the...

Attorney Adam M. Carlson is managing partner at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook. While he is skilled in various areas of law, he focuses the majority of his practice handling cases related to wrongful death, civil rights, and personal injury. He believes that tailoring each case to each client’s needs is key to providing aggressive and compassionate legal representation.

Before joining the firm, Carlson served as an intake assistant for our team, where he was responsible for fielding calls from potential clients. It was at this time that Carlson decided he wanted to do more. He found that he was passionate...

Melanie is a distinguished advocate for those who have been wronged or exploited, earning the moniker "the people's attorney." Her unwavering dedication to justice fuels her tireless representation of individuals from all walks of life—consumers, employees, business owners, private members, and homeowners. If you have suffered harm due to the dishonest or unlawful actions of others, Melanie stands ready to champion your cause to restore what you've lost. While on a different life and career path, fate stepped in and the legal profession found Melanie. After overcoming her own legal challenges, largely due to an attorney's advocacy, she felt called to...

As a partner with San Francisco's Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP, Peter Rukin represents Bay Area clients in a wide array of complex litigation matters, including employment, wage and hour, and business disputes. Mr. Rukin has built a reputation as a thoughtful and strong advocate for his clients, whatever their disputes may be. Mr. Rukin specializes in complex litigation, with a focus on wage and hour and equal employment opportunity claims. Since 2003, as class counsel he has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of thousands of California employees and consumers. Peter also represents clients with respect...

John Hyland is a partner with Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP. He practices exclusively in the area of employment law. John was Of Counsel with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in the firm’s San Francisco office where he advised and represented companies in State and Federal court actions covering all areas of employment law, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, disability law, employee privacy, employee leaves, and wage and hour issues. John regularly conducts training seminars and presents on a wide array of employment law issues. Law & Politics Magazine selected John as one of its Northern California Super Lawyers...

Aaron Clefton is the Managing Partner of Rein & Clefton. He is dedicated to advancing the civil and economic rights of persons with disabilities and all people who are vulnerable or impoverished. Aaron is lead counsel on all ADA cases for Rein & Clefton. He has over 17 years working in the field of disability rights, 5 years of that as an attorney. He has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer honor of “AV-Preeminent” in 2021, given to attorneys “who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers.” That same year...

David L. Fiol received his BA in Government from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in 1984 and graduated from the Harvard Law School (Cambridge, MA) with his JD in 1988. He spent the first ten years of his career litigating aviation accident and other wrongful death and personal injury cases for a firm in New York City. He represented clients and family members injured by everything from automobile accidents to small private plane crashes to major disasters including the bombing and crash of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During his tenure there he also litigated, insurance coverage, real estate...

Alden Knisbacher has represented clients in the Bay Area and across California since 1994. He has litigated hundreds of cases in various areas of law including employment, real estate, contract and business disputes, probate disputes, civil rights and other matters.

Mr. Knisbacher is a Georgetown Law graduate.

When not practicing law he can be found hiking, biking, running or cycling with his two children. Or, perhaps, playing with their pet bunny, Bobby.

After 22 years as a trial attorney, I have decided to limit my practice to furthering the cause of disability access and ending disability discrimination in the workplace, at home and in public places. If you are disabled temporarily or permanently, you have special rights but no government agency to enforce them. If you think you have been the victim of discrimination, call us now for a free consultation.

I am licensed to practice law in California and have received federal admissions to practice law in the Northern and Central Districts of California. I have developed extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of Civil, Family, Juvenile, and Criminal Law from the inception of a case through the appellate process. I have extensive state and federal litigation experience in drafting and arguing law and motion, engaging in and defending depositions, and have engaged in dozens of hearings and Court trials. I have drafted writs and appeals in most appellate districts within the state and and have successfully received multiple...

Ms. Truong's practice focuses on all aspects of civil litigation and general business litigation.

Ms. Truong joined Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz in October 2018. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as a litigation attorney at two Am Law 100 firms in New York, New York, where she practiced in the areas of complex and multidistrict commercial litigation, contract disputes, data/records management, E-Discovery, cross-border litigation (including the U.K, France, Israel), securities litigation, corporate internal investigations, governmental investigations (including Securities Exchange Commission investigations and antitrust investigations from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission), bankruptcy litigation (as a member...

Mr. Miller is first and foremost a civil trial attorney, having tried over 60 cases to a jury verdict in a host of subjects ranging from real estate, business, dental malpractice, attorney malpractice, civil rights/excessive force and personal injury. Mr. Miller also represents clients regarding employment/labor matters, and homeowner's association disputes.

Mr. Miller worked as a police officer for nearly ten years on the San Francisco Peninsula. While attending Empire College School of Law at night, he started a successful legal research business, providing legal research to over 30 attorneys. He has practiced law in Sonoma County since 1988. He is...